The following is an excerpt from “WIN FAST: Quick Ways to Achieve More, Earn More, and Be More.“
“If you want to win long term, you need to be more supportive of yourself. You need to give yourself credit for the things that went right, not just chastise yourself about the things that went wrong.”
Siimon Reynolds
I find it extraordinary that many people say that they want to perform at the highest level, but do virtually no analysis of their own performance.
They work hard each day, but often keep making the same mistakes again and again, greatly limiting their progress and success as a result, simply because they don’t take a few minutes each day to review how they performed. Compare that attitude to how elite performers in sport behave. After every performance, virtually all professional sports men and women sit down and evaluate every aspect of what they did. Sometimes they’ll watch video footage of their work for hours, looking for even the tiniest ways they can improve. We should have a similar attitude. But in our case, we don’t need to take hours to do it.
A highly effective performance review can be carried out in just three minutes. At the end of every day, simply ask yourself two questions.
What did I do well today?
This question is so important. Ambitious people tend to only focus on what they did badly. Even if they achieved ten good things in the day they often ruminate on the one thing they didn’t do so well! Then beat themselves up about it for half the night.
If you want to win long term, you need to be more supportive of yourself. You need to give yourself credit for the things that went right, not just chastise yourself about the things that went wrong. When you take the time to think of all the positive things you did each day, it both increases your confidence and your morale – two crucial components of a champion’s mindset.
What could I have done better?
Note how this question is phrased. It isn’t “What did I do badly?” It has a more positive emphasis on improvement, not failure. It’s constructive, not destructive. The truth is, even the most successful person would have to admit that in every day there are always actions that could have been done better. Or more carefully. Or quicker. Or with more kindness.
Our job as A-level players is to identify what these improvements can be, then act on them. But strangely, a lot of good performers prevent themselves from rising higher because when they have a good day, they don’t look at how they could take things to an even higher level. Only when they do badly do they look to improve. The best performers focus on daily improvement, even if they’ve had an awesome day.
Making The 2 Step Process Routine
This two-question daily review can be completed in mere minutes. But it’s a potent way to become a stellar performer in any field you care about.
WIN FAST ACTION STEPS
• Initially, place a reminder on your pillow to do the review.
• If you have a partner, consider doing your reviews together before you go to bed.
• If you consistently get the same answer for the “What could I have done better?” question, spend a minute or two reminding yourself of this at the start of each day.
Siimon Reynolds
High Performance Expert
Reynolds has more than 50 awards for excellence to his name and a 30-year career owning and running numerous successful companies. Founding his first company at just twenty-three years old, he went on to build the fifteenth biggest marketing services group in the world, consisting of 54 companies in 14 countries employing over 6000 staff. He now mentors entrepreneurs and CEOs from all over the world, and has coached more than 1000 high achievers, including leading celebrities, centi-millionaires and billionaires.
